Intercultural Residency Series

Video & Written Evaluation

The Intercultural Residency Series (ICRS) brings to Brandeis University artists of high accomplishment from around the world. For a few days each semester, a musical ensemble whose ethos is embedded in a particular social, cultural, and/or political setting engages with the campus community. The goal of these residencies is to promote cultural exchange and intellectual inquiry through understanding and appreciation of diverse artistic traditions.

Written Assessments

There are written assessments for two of the past residencies available for download and review. The residency of Amazones: Women Master Drummers of Guinea took place in Spring, 2007. The Executive Summary is an assessment of this three day residency, written by Faris A. Khan, M.A. in Cultural Production, with assistance from Sarah Baer, M.A. in Music & Women’s/Gender Studies.

In its inaugural year, 2005-2006, the residency series consisted of two residencies, the Yuval Ron Ensemble and Sol y Canto. The Intercultural Residency Series (ICRS) Evaluation of these two residencies was written by 2005-2006 series co-chairs Judith Eissenberg, Founder and Director of MusicUnitesUS, a member of the Lydian String Quartet and of the faculty in the Department of Music at Brandeis University; and Dr. Cynthia Cohen, Executive Director of the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence and Director of Coexistence Research and International Collaborations.

Video

This 17 minute video documents events in the Yuval Ron Ensemble residency, October, 2005.

The Yuval Ron Ensemble is a group of world-class musicians of Armenian, Jewish-Israeli, Palestinian-Israeli and Armenian background. They perform original compositions that incorporate elements of early liturgical music from the Jewish religion, the Armenian Christian church and the Sufi tradition of Islam. The ensemble celebrates the commonalities among peoples who often perceive each other as enemies; it emphasizes the unity of humanity.

The 2005-2006 series was co-chaired by Judith Eissenberg, Founder and Director of MusicUnitesUS, a member of the Lydian String Quartet and of the faculty in the Department of Music at Brandeis University; and Dr. Cynthia Cohen, Executive Director of the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence and Director of Coexistence Research and International Collaborations.

This video was produced with support from:

Saul O Sidore Memorial Foundation
& The Theodore and Jane Norman New Research/Scholarship Fund

We are deeply grateful to Progressive Pictures (www.progressivepictures.com) for the filming of the Yuval Ron Ensemble residency.

Downloads: DVD Insert for video